Lawn-mower



(No Model.)

N. A. BATCHELLER.

LAWN MOWER.

No. 487,809. Patented Oct. '7, 1890.

Nmou, a.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON A. BATOIIELLER, OF BLACK RIVER FALLS, WISCONSIN.

LAWN-MOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,809, dated October'7, 1890.

Application filed January 9, 1890.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELSON A. BATCHELLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Black River Falls, in the county of Jackson andState of \Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Lawn-Mowers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, refercncebeinghad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to lawn-mowers; and the construction hereinclaimed, while shown as applied to a machine having a reciprocatingcutting apparatus, is equally applicable to machines having rotarycutters.

I-Ieretofore many forms of lawn mowers have been devised, but in themajority n10- tion is given the cutter by the movement of themachinethat is, through driving connection between the supporting-wheelsand the cutting apparatus. A few forms have been devised in which thecutting apparatus is set in operation by the hand of the person pushingthe machine, and is therefore independent of the motive power propellingthe same. Machines of this latter class are deficient in operation andineffective in result as heretofore constructed by reason of thedifficulty experienced in obtaining sufficient power to easily operatethe cutters when mowing tough grass, the same being due to lack ofproper connections between the source of power and the cutter, and it istherefore the object of my invention to provide a device simple inconstruction, of few parts, but very efficient.

The invention therefore consists in certain details of construction andarrangements of parts, all hereinafter fully described, and set forthspecifically in the claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine, partly in section. Fig. 2 is aside elevation, a portion being broken away to more clearly illustratethe working parts. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3 3, Fig. 1.

In the drawings the frame of the machine is shown as composed of twoside plates AA,

preferably of iron,having bearings formed at Serial No. 336,457. (Nomodel.)

or near one end for the axle of the wheels B B, forming the frontsupports for the machine, andat the otherend for the supporting-rollerO.

Supported at each end in the frame-plates A A is a frame g, adapted tosupport the cutter-bar, said frame gbeing preferably grooved to afford achannel in which the sickle-bar g may slide. Said sickle-bar is providedwith ordinary teeth and guards g One end of said sickle-bar is bent toform an upwardlyextending arm f, preferably bifurcated, between theforks of which is secured one end of a horizontally-extending arm f, fora purpose hereinafter to be described.

Suitably secured to the inside of the frameplates A A are bent pieces iz',tcrminating at their upper ends in a sleeve is, through which passesand is secured the handle h of the machine. This handle is preferablyformed of gas-pipe and has fitting over its upper part the lower end ofa frame forming the upper part of said handle. Between the sides of thisframe and upon a suitable shaft is arranged a bevel-gear Z), meshingwith a transverse bevel-gear 1), arranged upon the upper end of aninclined shaft 0, which passes en tirely through said handle and hasbearings near the upper and lower ends thereof. Upon the lower end ofsaid inclined shaft 0 is a transverse disk 11 provided with a crank-pinon its lower face, which is in engagement with the inner end of thehorizontal arm f, before referred to.

Attached to each end of the shaft carrying the wheel I) are cranks e 6,having suitable handles to which power is applied to reeiprocate thecutter, the same being transmitted through the intermediate mechanismreferred to.

As a further improvement I bolt to the upper end of the handle a yoke orframe a, the same being so attached as to swing in a vertical plane. Itwill be readily seen, therefore, that the operator can propel themachine by pushing with his breast against this frame and at the sametime have free use of his hands to operate the cutting apparatus. Thispivoted breast-frame is particularly applicable to those machines whereboth hands are used to apply the power to move the cutting apparatus,and hence is broadly claimed as a part of the present invention.

applied to the handles 6 e the same will be transmitted through thewheels Z) Z) and shaft 0 to the disk 6 which, through thecrank-connection with the rod f, will move the same back and forth, thusimparting a reciprocating movement to the sickle-bar.

I am aware that heretofore it has been proposed to impart motion to thereciprocating cutter by means independent of the propelling power bypivoting upon one side of the handle a wheel meshing with a wheel uponone end of a horizontal shaft and adapted to transmit motion to a wheelupon the opposite end of said horizontal shaft, which is in operativeconnection with the long arm of bell-crank lever pivoted to the frameand having its short arm attached to the cutterbar, whereby the same isreciprocated. I am also aware that other forms of lawn-mowers havingreciprocating cutter-bars are old. The constructions heretofore usedhowever, are defective, for the reason that the power of only one handof the operator can be applied thereto, as the other hand will have tobe used to steady the machine and hold up the handle, and, second, byreason of the power being applied to only one end of the wheelshaft thedifficulty in keeping the machine steady when rough work is to be doneis very great, as when strain is applied the machine is apt to bedragged out of a straight line. In my device, however, by securing thewheel between the sides of the handle and providing two cranks bothhands can be used to apply the power and at the same time steady themachine, the same being impelled by pressure against the breast-frame.

I am further aware that it is old to form the end of the handle of amower of such a shape as to facilitate the application of pushing-powerto it; but I am not aware that a pivoted breast-frame, in combinationwith double cranks, has ever before been used; but it will'be readilyseen that it is an essential feature of a machine in which both hands ofthe operator are to be used simultaneously in applying power to move thecutters, and the combination is Itherefore herein W claimed, broadly,without reference to any particular NELSON A. BATOHELLER.

WVitnesses:

W. O. J onus, T. H. PHILLIPS.

